Hurricanes stay sharp in 2nd period, pull away in Game 5 of Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Through the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final, the Carolina Hurricanes had reason to second-guess their second periods, having been outscored 9-1 by the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I get it. It doesn’t look great," Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. "(But) it’s how it’s gone.” 

That trend, though, changed on Thursday, when the Hurricanes outscored the Golden Knights 2-0 in the second period en route to a 4-2 win in Game 5 of the Cup Final at Lenovo Center.

Carolina leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 and can win the Stanley Cup for the second time in its history with another victory in Game 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

With Game 5 tied 1-1 after the first period, the Hurricanes began to gain in confidence even before they found the back of the net. With Vegas defenseman Jeremy Lauzon in the penalty box for roughing, Carolina began to push. A shot by Seth Jarvis was followed by two attempts in succession by Jackson Blake and Jordan Staal.

Just one second after Lauzon's penalty expired, Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb was assessed a cross-checking minor at 10:57. On the ensuing power play, Svechnikov was able to sneak a shot five-hole on Carter Hart to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead at 11:58.

Sebastian Aho then followed that up by scoring his first goal of the Final to make it 3-1 at 17:51.

“We were able to get a power-play goal there, and that gives us some momentum,” Aho said. “But even the first (power play), we didn’t score, (but) I thought that we built some momentum there and it went from there.

"Not every period is going to be the same way. It’s hockey, there’s a lot of random stuff."

The two power plays contributed to the Hurricanes' reversal of fortune in the second period, particularly because they stayed out of the penalty box themselves.

Carolina finished the period with a 10-5 advantage in shots.

“Our second periods, up until today, have been ... not good,” forward Nikolaj Ehlers said. “So, obviously there are some things we needed to change. I think today we were able to play a little more simple and make sure pucks were getting deep, making sure you don’t just change without looking behind you. I think that worked pretty well.”

Carolina’s woes in the second period were particularly noticeable in Games 3 and 4. The Golden Knights lit up the Hurricanes for four goals in the second period in Game 3 before surviving Carolina’s four-goal comeback in the third period for a 5-4 double-overtime win. In Game 4, the Hurricanes started the period with a 3-1 lead, only to allow goals to William Karlsson and Brett Howden before recovering in the third for a 5-3 victory.

“There are certain segments of the game that you’ve got to be better at,” Brind'Amour said. “I think we needed to improve that during the second period, but the game itself, we’ve got to keep playing the same way. I think we did that tonight in the second period and the third period.”

And because of that, the Hurricanes are one win away from their first Stanley Cup championship since 2006.

“I don’t think anyone can really put their thumb on it, what’s been going on in the seconds,” Carolina defenseman Sean Walker said. "Tonight we had a good second and that was key for winning the game tonight. Again, we’ve been good in the thirds (outscored Vegas 11-4 in the series). If we continue to do that, we should have success.”

Brind’Amour agrees.

“I liked our effort and I hope we’re getting better,” he said. “There are certain areas of our game that are starting to look like we need it to look. But I do think there’s still another level we’re going to need to get to to find that next one.”